Fate Would Have It

Prologue

Song- Champion by Carrie Underwood ft. Ludacris 

"And its Delilah Barnett for a stunning 8 day win. This young racer is one of the newest additions to the winners circle, at only 18, she is knocking down barriers most 29 year old racers couldn't." 

My heart pounded in my ears and I raised my hand to give a fist pump. My crew and boyfriend surrounded me and congratulated me on my win.

"Blonde Bomb! Blonde Bomb!" My fans all screamed my nickname. I turned and gave them fist pumps and I broke out in a giant smile. 

"Mike!" I called to my team sponsor, Mike Synard. He turned from the reporter he was talking to and smiled. 

"Delilah." He gave me a giant bear hug. "Congratulations. Your spot on my team is waiting for you back in the states." He smirked. 

"Thank you." I waved at a fan. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." He smiled. "I know you will do amazing. You posses lots of talent." 

"Thank you sir." I looked into his eyes. "I can't wait to race for you." 

"I can't wait to see you out there." He gave me one last hug and walked off. I waited along with my fellow first finishers until the very last person crossed the line. 

I headed towards the line of reporters. 

"Miss Barnett! Delilah!." A man walked over to me. "How does it feel to have just won one of the most prestigious (excepting the Tour de France) races in the world?"

"It feels surreal." I wrapped my arms around myself. "I could not have done it with out my amazing team."

"I just saw a few of you team mates cross. How do you feel about their finish?"

"I am very happy and excited for them. We are very tightly knit. You spend hours and months training, living with each other, watching each other and making sure everyone is pulling their weight in a draft line during practice. You really become more of a family than anything." 

"What are your plans now that you have finished this monster?"

"Train and work mainly." 

"Will you ever come back?"

"Hopefully. I really hope the opportunity shows itself."

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with us." The reporter turned back to the camera and I wandered off to answer more questions. 

I went to the awards ceremony and received my gold and the check for 4 million dollars. Women get paid a lot in this sport. Well the leader gets paid a lot. The lead male made 8 million off of this race.

I drug my tired body to my hotel and I showered off.

"A bed." I flopped down and spread my legs. "I hurt so bad." 

My boyfriend, Jake, walked in. "De?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I-" He broke off. I sat up and looked at him. "I need to tell you something."

"Yeah?" 

"I know today is really special to you, but I can't keep this inside any longer." He sat on the couch opposite me. 

"What is it, Jake?"

"Delilah, I can't do this any more. I love you, but not in the way you need to be and deserve to be loved." He looked at his hands. "I know it is vain and selfish, but I need someone who is steady. Someone who won't be getting hurt every week. Someone who won't potentially die by crashing." He looked into my eyes. "I love you like my sister."

"Jake, I knew this would happen at some point." I smiled ruefully. "I love you like my brother. I need to have flexibility and I can't have someone that is so worried all the time. I hope you find someone."

"Thanks." He stood and grabbed his bag. "Can I give you a hug?"

"Sure." I stood shakily and walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair. "Good bye Jake."

"Goodbye De." He let me go and walked out of my life forever. 

I collapsed on my bed and let a small sob out. My team mate Katy walked in. 

"Delilah?" She hustled over to me. She held me while I cried. "Shh." She rocked me. "We leave for LA tomorrow." 

I wiped my eyes. "I better pack." I stood and grabbed my bags. I put all my things together. "Katy I am going to miss Prague. I mean I know I was only here for a day but the country side is lovely." 

"It is. Maybe for your 19th birthday, we could come back?" She stuffed her cycling equipment in her duffel. "I just can't wait to see my mom." 

"I know. Me too." I smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, Minnesota is a little far from LA."

"Yeah. But there is always FaceTime." 

I shrugged and laid back down. I closed my eyes and snuggled in. The next two days were recovery and then back to work.